I am currently living in London, England for the summer while my husband works here and I have a lot more free time to devote to photography. London is an amazing melting pot of cultures with so many visually stimulating areas, but more on that later. I vowed to update my blog often while I am out here, and I have already fallen behind, because I want to post a few entries on my amazing experience volunteering in Nicaragua in May first. I have finally completed sorting and editing the photos I took around the city of Leon, where we were based. The next entries will showcase the wonderful work all the volunteers I was with accomplished and all the amazing Nicaraguans who we met on our journey. We worked at a hospital in Leon, performing 39 knee surgeries with two surgeons, Dr. Sketchler and Dr. Millet, and we had an eye clinic down the street where we handed out some 1200 pairs of glasses.

Our first two days in the city were a whirlwind of cultural experiences. On our drive in from Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, to Leon, we pulled off to catch a view of the volcano and take a group photo. This is our whole group. I was apparently standing in some kind of tar, which I spent the remainder of the bus ride to Leon scrapping off with some wet wipes that one of my friends was kind enough to give me.

After eating lunch and getting settled in the hotel, we went to the town square for dinner. Leon is not a large place, but the streets are always full of people. The main square was packed with couples, families and people of all ages enjoying the beautiful night. Some walked around selling light up toys and friendship bracelets, while children did cartwheels and rode bikes around in the square. Part of the way through dinner, fireworks went off. It was a Saturday night, and like in the states, it was a time to relax and have fun with friends and family.

 

The next day, I had a fabulous time exploring the streets of Leon with a fellow photographer on the trip, Dan Milham, pictured below.

We explored the streets of Leon, and its people.

After preparing the supplies to begin surgery the next day and after the surgeons met with the potential patients to pick their cases, we took a bus ride to a local volunteer’s beach home. On the way, a lively and colorful parade passed. The following are a few snapshots of the parade from the bus window.

The beach was beautiful, we got to watch the sunset and the welcome party they threw us was perfect. It was window into the lives of the people who live there. The party was full of colorful drinks, kids playing and live music.

 

Swimming was very rough. The ocean definitely won. When I was ready to get out, a wave body slammed me against Rachel. We all ended up with sand in all the wrong places.

The light was beautiful as the sun began to set, and I had fun with silhouettes. I loved the shape of the family and the man with the sombrero.

 

It was so special being invited into a local’s home.

 

I think we all felt appreciated and welcomed after this special evening. The next day we hit the ground running, but I will post about the surgeries and eye clinic in another post. For the remained of this post, I want to post a few more events that established a sense of Leon, the place.

First, after work one afternoon, we visited the main church in the town center square and we were able to go up on the roof. It was beautiful up there- it almost felt like being on another planet. A fun fact about the churches in this town, they are all connected by underground tunnels. This was done during the revolution, so that people had an escape route. Many of the tunnels are now filled in to maintain the integrity of the building, but I still thought it was interesting.

 

After the church, we went to the revolutionary museum. It was a one room museum filled with photos, newspaper clippings and propaganda. The outside had political graffiti on the walls, including an anti Bush sentiment. I liked the shot I got of this man holding his fist up outside the museum with the Fidel and Hugo writings on the wall. I think it is a very telling photo. This man was very proud of the museum and the revolution. He did say that America is always a friend in Leon because of the help we gave. The second photo is from inside the museum and shows a photo taken at the hospital we worked at during the revolution.

 

 

Another wonderful insight into this city was going salsa dancing. We went to this local joint and danced for hours. It is beautiful to watch the swirl of colors as they twirl around the dance floor. And yes, we danced too, or at least we attempted to.

We made friends with the locals who volunteered with us and helped us translate. And finally, I will close with a few more photos taken around the town through the days and on the last day as we said goodbye to the local volunteers. My next post with showcase the work we did while we were there. It truly is a colorful and special place. Sometimes I wonder if people are happier when they don’t have as much as we do in America. They love each other and they are able to focus on what is important. Leading a simpler life can be quite liberating.